Heels for footwear



Feb. 14, 1956 v. PHILLIPS ET AL 2,734,288

HEELS FOR FOOTWEAR Filed May 12, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l I n ven tors VIOLET PHILLIPS IRAS P GREEN Attorney Feb. 14 1956 v, P I ET AL 2,734,288

HEELS FOR FOOTWEAR Filed llay 12, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventors VIOLA'T PHILLIPS IRAS P 6255 Attorney United States Patent 2,734,288 HEELS FOR FOOTWEAR Violet Phillips, Fairhaven, St. Ann'es-on-Sea, and his Fayne Green, St. Annes-on-Sea, England Application May 12, 1954, Serial No. 429,336

Claims priority, application Great Britain September 21, 19 53 3 Claims. (CI. 36-66) This invention relates to heels for footwear having renewable heel pieces, that is to say the final or wearing portion of the heel is renewable, and is particularly, though not exclusively, applicable to the heels of ladies shoes.

The heel pieces of ladies shoes, because of their small size, wear quickly and such wear soon affects the stability and/or the appearance of the shoe, hence the obvious advantage of a renewable heel pieee which is so constructed that the owner canipersonally remove the old worn heel piece and repiace it with a new one. Qthe advantages obtain from such construction as later explained.

One object of the invention is to provide a removable heel piece having increased wearing properties; the new and improved construction providing easy yet secure attaehnient of the heel piece to the heel proper, this being based upon the appreciation that nylon or like plastics (as hereinafter defined) have extremely great resistance to abrasion and in fact wear far better than metal, leather, ruhber or any other wearing materials used herebefore.

Further objects are to provide improved means for attaching the heel piece onto the end of the heel proper to maintain effective face-to face contact; to enable removal or fitting of the heel piece to be effected manually without the use of a tool, and to enable the heel pieces of left and right shoes to be interchangeable.

According to the invention, a renewable heel-piece for footwear heels comprises a top lift having a plurality of plastic locating pins adapted to fit into corresponding complementary sockets provided in the footwear heel, and nefans for holding said pins within said'sockets, said pins ex end n h o h th i k e s'ot a d top lift so as to form part of the wearing'surface thereof.

In this specification, by the term plastic is meant nylon (that is to say a synthetic linear polyamide or a condensation polymer containing recurring CONH- groups attached on each side t6 carbon atoms) or any synthetic material having similar physiea'l properties.

The heel piece aforesaid may be characterised in that saidpins are each formed at their bases with at least two frusto-conical portions capable of being forced into the top-lift during assembly so as to secure the said pins to saidtop lift, and there may he conveniently secntjed to said base, one or mote projecting portions, adapted to form additional wearing surfaces at the base ct hspin a is a ret nce ombination o removable heelp ece and he l, on olr'rnor of the plastic pins has at least one 'reduced diameter portion thereon, adapted to be engaged by a resilient element in the socket of the heel, the resilient element preferably consisting of a plastic tube contained in the socket, corresponding crimped or reduced diameter portions being provided thereon.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

2334,2228 Patent d F b- 14, 1955 2 Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shoe heel according to the present invention, with the renewable heel piece mov d; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a renewable heel piece forattachme nt to the heel shown in Figure 1; 1 Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional detail, on an enlarged scale, showing how the renewable heel piece of FigureZfitsintoaheel; b l

Figure 4 is a perspective view of party of Figure 3; Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional detail, on" an.'eri-' larged scale showing a different form of renewable'heel piece in position on a different shoe; 7 v Figure 6 is a perspective detail of part of Figure 5; Figure 7 is an elevation of a mddifiedform of pin for use in securing a heel piece; i V

Figure 8 is a plan view of a heel piece incorporating the pin of Figure 7, and

Figure 9 is a part sectional perspective view of yet anthsr m 9 Pin Referring now to Figure 1, a heel 1,0 of a shoe 11, is bored at 12, '13 and 14, to, form sockets into which pins of a renewable heel piece maybe inserted. In addition, a protective end plate 15 of metal or the like is sunk'into the hat surface of the heel so as to prevent wear or compression of the material of the heel and consequent disib t s cf e s e s Ref jo ns ew t Fi ures v n 3 the se ee e e illustrated is adapted for use with the heel shownin Fi tne 1- T e h e ie e c m e p li f ea e fiy is hored for the re eptisn of three pi s 17,, s and: whieh are of plastic, as hereinafter defined. Each pin is formed at its base as a doublerfro'storconical portion 19, 2 0,the tape;- of each conical portion being towards the main part of the pin so that a toothed step 21 is provided parallel to the plane of thebase 22 of the pin, as is clearly illustrated in Figure 3. The pins 17 are of constant diameter along the remainder of their lengths, and are a sliding fit in the sockets lii, 14. The pin 18 is of slightly smaller diameter than that of the pins 17, and, in additiom has a educed diameter portion 23 near its upper end. The pins are assembled into the bores in the lift; which initial- W are Of acesdiam er y forcing the h e ih 9 e P n munqe fi st, thi us'h the bore, i is fiat base 22 coincides with the wearing surface of lift id. In the bore 12 of the heel 10 is disposed a cylindrimember 2% adapted to hold theheel piece ont'othe heel 15). The member 24 is of resilient material, for example spring steel, or plastic, and is slotted at one end to fo rm a series of castellations 215, these crastellations being crimped at 26 to form a spring-like reduced diameter portion of the cylindrical member to engage the part 23 of the pin I 7' V 7 Q 7 The heel piece illustrated in Fignres 2 and 3 is finished oh on its upper surface by Securing thereto a lamina of any snitable material (e. .g.' Bakelite) as for example by an adhesive 28, but the provision of such a finish is of course, optional.

, I e embodiment shown in Figs. 5 and 6 similar reference numerals are used for the parts which arc similarto those already described with reference to ures 2, s and 4.

In this instance, different pegs are used on the renewable heel piece, and no end plate l5 i8 pldvidc d inthe heel 10.

A sleeve 29 of resilient plastic, which is split longitudinally at 30 is accommodated in the socket 12 and serves as the resilient means for holding the heel piece to the heel 10. Two reduced diameter portions 31 are provided on the sleeve 29, and these are formed, in the manufacture of the sleeve, by crimping.

The heel piece comprises a leather top lift 16 bored to receive plastic pins such as 32. The pins are fitted to the top lift 16 in the same way as are those illustrated in Figures 2 and 3. The pin 32 which is about inch in length, is formed at its end with a rounded head 33 joined to the main part with a waist or neck 34.of.shallow U-shape in cross section, a second waist 35 being provided at a distance from the neck 34. These waists are located so that, when the pin 32 is pushed into the sleeve 29 as shown in Figure 5, the wide parts thereof open the reduced diameter parts 31 which subsequently engage on the forward face of each waist 34, 35 and by inward pressure set to exert an axial force on the pin 32 to hold the same firmly into the socket 12.

In use, the heel piece shown in Figure can be easily fitted, the sleeve 29 engaging the head 33 of the pin 32 acting as a detent not only to hold it to resist withdrawal but also to exert, continuously, a pull on the pin to hold the top lift 16 against the end of the heel body.

It has been found, in use, that the frusto-conical parts 19 of the plastic pins, by virtue of their being formed flush with the wearing surfaces of the top lifts 16, im prove the wear life of the heel piece considerably, since they form insets, in the heel piece, of considerable resistance to abrasion. The frusto-conical portions 19 tend to bell outwardly slightly during wear, but this has a riveting efiect upon the pins and therefore secures them more firmly to the top lifts 16.

To increase the wearing life of the heel pieces further, the modifications illustrated in Figures 7 and 8 and in Figure 9 have been developed, the pins in this case having been designed to present a greater effective area of the abrasion-resistant plastic at the wearing surface of the top lift.

Referring to Figure 7, there is illustrated a plastic pin 36 which is largely similar to the pin 32 of Figure 5, but has a three-part flange 37, 38, 39 moulded at the base thereof, contiguously with the frusto-conical portion 19. When the pin is secured to a heel piece, merely by forcing the pin through an appropriately dimensioned bore in a top lift as in the preceding examples, the flange parts 37, 38 and 39 become embedded in the leather of the lift, so that an underneath view of a heel piece with four pins 36 secured therein would appear as in Figure 8. It is evident from Figure 8 that the flange parts 37, 38 and 39 provide additional surface areas of abrasion resistant plastic, over and above those provided by the parts 19, so that the heel piece of Figure 8 will be longer wearing than that of Figures 2, and 3 or Figure 5.

In Figure 9 is illustrated another form of heel piece which is similar to that of Figure 8. In this instance, however, the plastic pins, instead of each being formed with a three part flange, are formed with single radial flanges 40, in this case of about 90 to 100 degrees extent. These flanges 40 are somewhat easier to incorporate with the plastic pins than those shown in Figures 7 and 8, but in either case they can be manufactured by moulding integrally with the pin.

Obviously locating pins of other sizes, number and arrangement than those particularly described or illustrated may be used without departing from the scope of the invention and more than one of the pins may be adapted to be efiective to retain the heel piece in position.

Obviously material other than leather could be used as the top lift of the heel piece.

We claim:

1. A heel assembly for footwear comprising a renewable heel including a top lift, a plurality of pins of nylon, each of said pins having a pair of frusto-conical portions forming a head, both of said frusto-conical portions being embedded in said top lift with the lower surface of said head flush with the lower surface of said top lift to present a greater effective area of said nylon against abrasion, said pin being cylindrical and uniform in diameter, at least one reduced diameter portion on said pin forming an annular recess with a concave surface, said heel having a cylindrical socket, a cylindrical member fixed in said socket, the upper end of said member being longitudinally slotted and having a concave portion coinciding with the concave surface of said pin, the part of said cylindrical member above said concave portion flaring outwardly, whereby the removal of said top lift and pins from said heel is facilitated.

2. A heel assembly for footwear comprising a renewable heel including a top lift, a plurality of pins of nylon, each of said pins having a pair of frusto-conical portions forming a head, both of said frusto-conical portions being embedded in said top lift with the lower surface of said head flush with the lower surface of said top lift to present a greater effective area of said nylon against abrasion, said pin being cylindrical and uniform in diameter, a pair of reduced diameter portions on said pin forming an annular recess with a concave surface, said heel having a cylindrical socket, a cylindrical member fixed in said socket, the upper end of said member being longitudinally slotted and having a pair of concave portions coinciding with the concave surface of said pin, the part of said cylindrical member above said concave portion flaring outwardly, whereby the removal of said top lift and pins from said heel is facilitated.

3. A heel assembly for footwear comprising a renewable heel including a top lift, a plurality of pins of nylon, each of said pins having a pair of frusto-conical portions forming a head, both of said frusto-conical portions being embedded in said top lift with the lower surface of said head flush with the lower surface of said top lift to present a greater effective area of said nylon against abrasion, said pin being cylindrical and uniform in diameter, a pair of reduced diameter portions on said pin forming an annular recess with a concave surface, said heel having a cylindrical socket, a cylindrical member fixed in said socket, the upper end of said member being longitudinally slotted and having a pair of concave portions coinciding with the concave surface of said pin, the part of said cylindrical member above said concave portion flaring outwardly, whereby the removal of said top lift and pins from said heel is facilitated, and horizontal flanges at the lower face of said pins embedded in said heel to increase the exposed area of said nylon to wear.

I References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 18,959 Jorgensen Sept. 26, 1933 2,418,204 Stritter Apr. 1, 1947 2,495,820 Peretti Jan. 31, 1950 2,652,637 Hardman Sept. 22, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 138,399 Great Britain Feb. 12, 1920 291,073 Great Britain June 14, 1928 292,409 Great Britain June 21, 1928 20,254/29 Australia Aug. 21, 1930 339,460 Great Britain Dec. 11, 1930 10,591/32 Australia Feb. 19, 1934 

